Annual Lists
Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival
Porto Alegre, Brazil / May 16-June 2, 2019 / fantaspoa.com
“Take one cup of South American warmth and hospitality, one cup of fantastic films, and one cup of next-level barbecue, mix them in a blender and you get Fantaspoa,” says one panelist of this 13-year-old, 17-day event. It hosts a wide swath of frightful and fanciful flicks from all corners of the globe, with an emphasis on Latin American cinema, and has made a major commitment to the creation and release of these movies. This year, it launched Brazilian distribution arm FantasFilms and production market FantasMercado, joining production outfit Fantaspoa Produções. Director João Fleck, the panelist adds, “is an experience in his own right. He runs around, most of the time shirtless, obsessively making sure you have the best time possible. He’ll even invite you to his apartment, where he has an old-school arcade machine with over 10,000 retro games.” What more could you ask for?
A fire-wielding fest-goer outside the Cinemateca Capitólio during opening night of Fantaspoa 2018. Photograph by Beta Iribarrem, courtesy of Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival
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